If I Told You Why
by Spade's Shadow Queen
Summary: REWRITTEN : Shirin is just another player in this game to determine the fate of their world and to create the happy ending of the last. After disappearing for seven years, she makes her entrance once again to play her part in the spinning wheels of fate and in the end, she must make the hardest decision of all : To believe or Despair, To Save This World or the Last One.
1. I'm Back

**AUTHOR NOTE : It's been a little over a year since I started the original version of this story, and looking back, I realize that there are many flaws in the characters and in the writing as a whole. Because of this, I couldn't find myself motivated to continue the story after certain parts. As you can see, I have decided to rewrite the story and develop the characters further. I hope everyone will show this version just as much love and as always, I'd love to hear your recommendations for how Shirin's adventure should work out!**

Stalking down the hallways of the Kou palace, Shirin was boiling over in anger. She was at the end of her line. The past few days of being ordered around while at the capital were more than enough for her to lose control. Somehow, seven years of slavery was still not enough to put a damper on the fire inside of her and she was of course, as angry as she ever was.

Pale moonlight spills into the open corridor, lighting Shirin's path as if justifying her cause, telling her that her actions were righteous. After a few moments and a couple of dead ends, she finally makes it to her destination. Standing in front of a towering vault, Shirin slips through the golden doors without being noticed. She was lucky that there were no guards. Then again, who was going to steal from a vault with the belongings of a dead princess other than her?

She looks around the inside of the vault, a snarl of disgust spreading across her face. Not only had Kou started a war with her nation, the third prince, Kouha, had ripped her room from her palace and stuck it in the middle of theirs. Everything down from the hand painted designs on the wallpaper to the clothing she had thrown on the ground before she had run out of her room were exactly the same.

Immediately, she walks up to the closet, ransacking it for her mother's clothing that she had stolen and hid inside. With a flourish, she pulls out a red cloak and a white dress with a black corset like fabric around the torso that led to a large ruffled skirt. "It's all still here" she murmurs, running a hand through the silky material.

In a flash, she changes into the familiar clothing. As she laces up her sandals, the uneven wings gently flapping with her motions movement, she hears a loud pounding at the door. Her sapphire eyes brighten mirthlessly and she walks towards the entrance as she puts on her metal vessels.

With a deep breath, Shirin sets her hand on the sword hanging around her hip and yells "Oh Spirit of War and Pride, I summon thee with my magoi and an offering of blood, Come Forth Amdusias!". Instantaneously, her Djinn Equip appears, ombre red hair growing in shaggy strips as metal cuffs with iron work designs cover a half buttoned shirt and and a poofy skirt. Completing the equip, a military cape and long boots with tassels hanging off that matched the looped chain choker around her neck appear just in time as the doors burst open.

Even after this long, everything felt so right, and Shirin just couldn't help feel the sizzle of power as she gazed at the surprised expression of the person in front of her. "It's nice to see you again, Mei, " Shirin says, eyes laughing as her sword dances with electricity.


	2. What We Do Now

"Shirin?" Koumei explains, dumbfounded. This … couldn't be right.

A small smile tugs on Shirin's lips as she views the absolute confusion marring Koumei's face. It was fascinating to see the the sinking expression on the prince as Shirin replies, "Pretty sure that's who I am".

"You're dead," Koumei bluntly says, his brain still trying to register the fact that Shirin really was alive and right in front of him.

A sort of mania enters her eyes, a bright gleam of something a little distanced from the present shining through. "Why don't you see for yourself, little Shirin is well and alive, all in real flesh," she murmurs, hands outstretched.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, Koumei walks forward, the echoes of his footsteps filling the open chamber. He tentatively reaches out a hand, whispering, "Are you really here?"

Suddenly, a loud crash fills the room, jarring blur racing towards them and breaking apart the moment. Shirin jumps back and yells out, "Dawlir Bararaq!" as the lightning on her sword begins to jump onto every available surface.

Koumei's eyes widen as electricity jumps around the room, desperate to minimize the damage. "Dante Al-Tais!" he calls out, delivering the electricity out of the room.

"What the hell is going on," the person who had entered the room snarls, causing Koumei and Shirin to direct their attention to the blur that had stepped between the two of them.

"It's our little Kouha!" Shirin exclaims, a saccharine smile in place.

In frozen motions, Kouha turns towards Shirin, eyes widening as he takes in her figure. "Rinrin?" he ghosts, mind racing back to when they were children, before Shirin had disappeared. She was supposed to be gone from this world, taking a fraction (if not more) of his heart with her.

"Perfect," Shirin declares, a sharp undertone to her words. "Now that both of you guys are here," she begins, only to roar, "Why is my stuff here!". Her eyes flash angrily, trying to find answers for the reason she had entered the vault in the first place.

Kouha recovers from his shock, his usual lazy smile appearing again. "Felt like it," he states, eyes still drinking Shirin's presence. She was here, she was real, she was the present.

"Oh, really," she hisses only to pull out her sword and aim it at Kouha, body sizzling from the electricity running through the sword.

Panicked, Koumei rushes between the two, blocking Kouha from Shirin's sword. "Let's go find Kouen first, I'm sure he'll be pleased to know that you've made your way back to us". It was all he could do, and Shirin's existence also did create a problem for them that Kouen needed to address.

Shirin eyes him, detached and a little cold. She seemed a little otherworldly, sapphire eyes and lightning dancing in arrays. "Where?" she asks, setting down her sword and waiting for them to lead the way. Something inside of her began to turn and twist, unsettled; she was back in the arms of Kou for better or worse.

* * *

The chambers were alight with the soft glow of candlelight, scrolls piled high on the table in the middle of the room. Sitting at the table, Kouen stares intently at the words in front of him, red hair illuminated in the dim light. An abrupt knocking fills the room, causing the figure at the table to look up. "Yes?" he calls out, eyes hardening with suspicion.

Koumei peeks through the door, replying, "We have a guest," and opens the creaking door to let himself in. Shirin and Kouha follow behind him, soft footsteps echoing throughout the room.

Shock startles through Kouen; even he wasn't wasn't immune to the sudden appearance of their supposedly lost friend, dropping the scroll in his hand with a loud thunk. "What the hell is she doing here?" he growls icily, standing up to tower over everyone else.

Shirin looks up, gazing intently at the figure in front of her. Year may have passed, but each of them was just as easy to recognize, her fluttering heart betraying her hardened opinions of what she was to do. "It's nice to see you again, First Prince Kouen," she states, hands clasped in front of her.

Looking at the Shirin with a lazy gaze, Kouen states, "Shirin. How nice of you to stop on by, for what reason have you decided to grace us with your presence?". He was tense, every cell inside his being trying to make sense of the situation. Shirin was most definitely not a ghost, but she was not supposed to be here either.

A polite smile forms on Shirin's face only to crumble into a smirk. "Let's not pretend we need to be polite. It's a one on one between old friends, even I deserve that sort of courtesy, do I not?" she asks, a tension springing into the air.

"Where have you been?" Kouen asks, brushing away the animosity for answers. In all of their minds, Shirin had disappeared before the final battle between their two kingdoms and she had been declared dead when she was nowhere to be found. Now, maybe they could have closure.

Defiance shown in her sharp smile, a curling sort of anger surrounding her. "Sold into slavery. I've been tossed to several different nations, now all gone, for the past five years. But that's not the point. What are we going to do now? I'm now officially your property, but I also have all of my vessels back. Would you guys be able to hold me down before I destroyed everything here? How do you want to make use of my power?".

A stunned silence captures the room as they all begin to think about the best course of action. Shirin was right. In addition to everything she had said, her kingdom, Samarkand, was now part of the Kou Empire. She had further reasons to rise higher in the palace and a guaranteed spot alongside the rest of them. The question now was what really is her place?

Standing up, Kouen makes his way across the room to stand in front of Shirin, eyes impenetrable. "What the best course of action is, you say?" he asks, pulling up her chin with his fingers. "Will you even be able to put yourself under our command?"

A blinding smile sets in place, "Don't worry about me, it'll work out. But what do you have in mind?".

"Become a general in the Kou Army and take your place as a member of our household," Kouen says, eyes blazing with a hardness that showed why he was meant to be king.

Shirin ponders the option for a few moments before replying, "No. I don't think that's enough is it? I've lost everything and all you're going to do is make me a general? That's just a little … how should I say … underwhelming".

Tensely, Koumei eyes the two, worried about how the situation would come end. To his surprise, Kouen bursts out laughing, fingers splayed across his face. "You never cease to amaze me, you know that? Tell me then, what do you want? You keep asking roundabout questions, if you want actual answer, it would be in your best interest to lay it all out for us to see".

"Oh I do miss you guys," she muses, a smile curling onto her face. "You catch on fast. What I want is immunity and my kingdom back. Just because I'm a general, there is no guarantee that i will have any control over what I do or my survival in the Empire. I also want my household back, as well as Samarkand, because it's still mine. At the very least, I want the ability to govern my people".

Their eyes lock onto each other, an unspoken argument passing through. "There is no way to guarantee you immunity. What the other members of the palace decide to do is beyond my control. The most I could do is allow you to marry into the royal line to ensure some sort of power. For your other _requests_ ," he spits. "We will do our best to find your household and I will bestow you the title of the governor of Samarkand, does that sound good enough?".

Tapping her fingers against the hilt of her sword, Shirin looks up to state, "That works. In exchange then, for you inability to control your subordinates, can I go off for a while? There's something that I have to deal with first".

"It never ends with you, does it," Kouha snarls from the side, listening to the list and list of requests that were appearing.

Shirin scoffs, "You should be happy that I haven't piled on even more requests". Turning to Kouen she tilts her head and asks, "So?"

A sort of hardened glare enters Kouen's eyes before he growls, "Do you understand what you're asking of us?"

"Of course, do you believe that I'm dense?" she stares menacingly, twirling her dagger in her hand. A silent wind blows through the room, the candlelight flickering as if they were holding their breath, waiting to see what would happen next.

Kouen gestures to Koumei with a flick of his hands, telling him, "Open up a transport circle for her". He glances away, heading back to his table. "Kouha, you're excused, Koumei, leave once you are finished.

Bowing ,the two reply simultaneously murmur, "Yes your majesty," before heading off to do what they were told.

"Thanks Mei," Shirin says with a smile, standing in front of the transport circle. "See you guys in a bit," she gloats, a crazed smile in place.


	3. Wistful Hellos

**AUTHOR NOTE : Thank you for reading this story! I know I'm not very consistent with updates and I'm very grateful for everyone who has tried to keep up with the story of Shirin. Please read and review (I'd love to see where you guys want this story to lead towards!)**

She was right where she needed to be, standing at the very end of the Great Rift. Peering down the canyon, she can't help but sigh. "Why does he have to live at the bottom of the most impossibly large canyon," she mutters despite the smile already racing across her face. "But who am I one to argue, self preservation has never been a strong suit," she yells as she jumps down, immediately consumed by the darkness within the canyon. She continues falling for a while, losing track of how much time was passing by. The feeling of weightlessness was disconcerting, yet she could feel herself letting go of everything, living in the single moment she was in.

Lost in thought, she doesn't realize that she's made it to the bottom, bouncing in midair thanks to Yunan's magic. "I would have liked a warning," Yunan chides, the same sad smile as always as he stands next to the slowly descending Shirin.

"You already knew I was coming," she retorts, brushing off her clothing as she lands softly. "Indulge me sometimes, even if I'm only your second favorite King Vessel," she absentmindedly throws, forgetting how hard those words would hit Yunan.

His smile wavers just slightly, showing his discomfort. "Don't say that," he cheerily says despite the sadness lining his eyes, the truth a little too much for him.

"Don't lie to me. See, we're even know," Shirin replies before walking up to stand eye to eye with Yuna. "Forget that though. You should should know exactly why I'm here".

Sighing, Yunan carefully replies, "Of course. Shirin … " he begins, hesitantly reaching out to rest a hand against her shoulder. "Don't forget you're special too, that i chose you for a reason. I will always be here for you, and I trust you'll do what is right if I do help you. At the very least, it will help counter what you have gone through".

Clasping her hands together, Shirin exclaims, "So you'll do it!". She was relieved that Yunan had agreed to help her and was glad that the situation had not escalated. At the end of the day Yunan was still invaluable to her, someone she was unwilling to cross regardless of the situation.

Yunan nods, asking "Shall we?" as he waves his staff, causing them to float up and out of the Great Rift and towards the nearest dungeon. As the scenery passes them by, Yunan begins to pick apart at Shirin's disappearance. "How were the past seven years?"

"They are as they should have been, nothing more or nothing less," she replies, impassive and impossible to read.

Gazing at the horizon, trying to judge the location and distance to the dungeon, Yunan asks, "And where were you?" He glances at her for a moment, trying to read the unspoken shifts in demeanor to better understand what had truly happened.

Shirin shrugs, unwilling to give away much. "I'm not quite sure. I was in various small and obscure nations that were most likely estate states. They kept getting caught in wars between other countries and I was sold as a slave. I managed to make my way to Kou a year ago by irritating some of the other buyers," she says, spinning in the wind. Like this, she felt the most free, the endless sky an almost limitless adventure.

"Quiet a story," Yunan murmurs dryly, picking up on Shirin's reluctance to tell him more. She has always been like this, protective of her own scars and refusing to let anyone else in. All he can do is sit back and try to help out as much as he can.

They finally land in front of the dungeon, the sight an awe to behold. Even after entering so many dungeons, the sight of them still cause a sense of wonder for Shirin. To think that these buildings connect to Alma Torran and contain the power to make the kings of this world is a concept she is still trying to wrap her mind around.

'Are you ready?" Yunan questions, uneasy with leaving Shirin behind. He has finally found her, and now he has to let her go to fight her own battle.

Still awestruck and humbled, Shirin stares at the dungeon. "Of course, I always am. I'll be heading in then," she states, walking towards the entrance. "Please wait for me," she adds as she reaches the entrance. Reaching out her hand, she pauses for a moment, whispering a soft, "Thanks you," before she steps through the arch to another world.


End file.
